


Unconditional

by kurosuisen



Category: Dunkirk (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, One Shot Collection, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-01-07 20:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12240099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurosuisen/pseuds/kurosuisen
Summary: The collection of moments with our favorite duo in modern settings. Love served in different sceneries. Every chapter is inspired by one word/phrase and loosely related to other chapters, so they might be read standalone.I'm trying to keep some healthy level of fluff here, so I hope it won't make your tooth hurt from sweetness ;)





	1. Difficult to ignore

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I played this little game with my friends. They got me a list of words and I wrote some one-shots inspired by those words. Sometimes I used to get the list made of random words from dictionary and sometimes the list was made with a very specific things on mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word for this chapter? **Cuba**.  
>  The word was chosen by [thrandymajestic](http://archiveofourown.org/users/thrandymajestic/gifts) and It's something that I would never write about if I had a choice. But the series was promised and here it is. Her recommendation is to read it while listening to [this album](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNYOVEXJBBM) ;)  
> The chapter is set in modern times, probably like most of the chapters that will appear here.

Farrier was the first to say that the big holiday plan made by Collins was a ridiculous idea. And when they finally decided to go to Cuba, he was also the first to have fun everywhere they went. He would roll his eyes, saying that it wasn’t true, but one would have to be blind not to see how excited he was getting over some small details.

He was especially excited about trying different kind of rum. Collins was quite surprised to see how curious his partner was of the liqueur, because Farrier was always the guy that only needed a beer to get drunk

“Look” hearing his partner voice, Collins looked up at the man again and rolled his eyes. He already asked when they would finally leave the store. But it was quarter ago. “Cody might like those. It smells like rum.”

Before Collins had a chance to move away, Farrier put the cigar under his nose.

“It stinks” said Collins, his voice tired. Farrier gave him the look that would make Collins care in every other moment, but not then. It had been too long since they had entered the store and Collins didn’t even notice the difference between anything that Farrier wanted him to smell. He couldn’t count how many cigars Farrier had shown to him.

“I’ll take those too” announced Farrier with his poor Spanish and the owner of the store was more than happy to pack another box into a plastic bag. Collins would have been more than happy to throw it all out. Farrier probably got a gift for the half of his office.

The man even got himself a leather case for cigars and Collins rolled his eyes again, seeing how content his lover was.  Before their trip he wouldn’t think, even for a second, that he would create a monster like that. It wasn’t their first holidays together, but it was the first time Farrier would act like that. Collins followed the man to the door, hoping that nothing would get his attention anymore. Of course something did. This time it was a surprisingly nice elegant cigarette case and the blonde for a moment even thought of agreeing for buying that, because it looked elegant, until he reminded himself that he was in the middle of quitting smoking. And so was Farrier.

Collins sighed when they finally left the store. It was already half past one and they missed the bus they bought tickets to. Farrier didn’t mind and didn’t even feel guilty when Collins snapped at him for that. He just stopped in the middle of the pavement and looked at his partner, pulling out his hand in his direction. Not to hug him, but to pull the bag with cigars in his direction.

“Would you put it to my backpack?” he asked and Collins nodded, taking the plastic bag from him. He put the bag into a backpack, just as the older man asked, but also grasped the camera and smiled, taking one quick shot of his lover when Farrier turned around to look at him.

“So where do we go next if we missed our bus, Mr. Clever?” the blonde asked and took another shot of the other man, catching the view of him frowning.

“We’ll eat something. Something sweet, preferably” Farrier smiled at the thought of dessert and Collins made another perfect shot. The collection of different faces by William Fitzhugh Farrier was always his goal during a trip. “Then we’re going to buy something for mums and for your whiny sister and then we’re having a bus.”

“A bus? We’re not having a bus, love. We missed our and the earliest bus we can buy tickets to is tomorrow” the blonde gave the other man confused look and frowned, seeing him shrugging at the question. Rude.

“I exchanged the tickets for later hour” he said as if it was something obvious, leaving Collins speechless for a minute. “When you were sleeping.”

“You… What?” before Farrier replied, Collins hit him in the arm, upset for not letting him know earlier. It wasn’t new for Farrier to do something like that behind his back. Sometimes Collins would praise him for the surprise and sometimes he would be upset because it made him unnecessarily nervous.

This time it was Farrier who grasped the camera and took a several shots of Collins upset face and then gave him a short kiss. The blonde was able to stay silent only for a few minutes, until they made it to the café. They’d found themselves a comfortable table with a fluffy coaches by the window. It was hot outside and yet Farrier ordered a hot chocolate and some banana tarts that were still warm when the waiter brought it. Collins, who wasn’t such a fan of sweets, asked for mint flavoured ice-creams.

“Let me try yours” asked Farrier and before Collins could say anything, the other man had his spoon in his ice-creams. The man tasted it and shook his head with disgust. Mint was not his flavour and they both knew that, but this time Farrier generously chose to give up any comment about it. Collins didn’t know why he kept asking him to taste mint flavour desserts as if he was about to magically like it one day. “Mine is better. Want some?”

Collins was about to made some remark, but decided not to. He just nodded at the man’s questions and leaned to him above the table, so that Farrier could give him a taste of tart. The cake was good, but as sweet as he expected from the dessert that his lover had ordered.

“We could stay here and never come back” sighed Farrier, mixing his hot chocolate with a spoon with no reason. “I didn’t even check my inbox for three days. Too bad that Dean writes me messages everywhere he can. I should block him. It’s not like they can’t pick the colour without me.”

“You’re the picky one, so don’t be surprised they ask questions” Collins reminded him, slightly amused and lifted his hand to gently wipe the remaining ice-cream from the corner of his lips.

Farrier didn’t miss the opportunity to catch his finger with his lips and gave him the obvious look. When the man knew that he can do such a thing, he always did.  Farrier was craving to show him his affections in public. Sometimes it made Collins uncomfortable because he had too vivid imagination. He kicked him in the ankle under the table and the older man laughed loudly at the gesture. Farrier always laughed too loud and there was no surprise that everyone in the café looked at them. Luckily Collins already had his hands on the glass of his dessert, pretending that nothing happened. Some shot them interested looks for a few next minutes, so after they were done with their sweets, they decided to leave the place.

They were both enjoying walking through the streets of the city. It seemed as if they not only travelled to a different country, but also to a different timeline. Some parts of the city were built in such different styles. They were able to guess some trends of diverse architecture, but for some others places they had to check in the guide they bought from some old man on the bus station the day they’d arrived. Farrier was amazed with colourful buildings and when he stopped to take a photo, Collins usually went ahead, only realising that the man was behind when he noticed that he couldn’t hear his babbling for a long time. Then he smiled, because Farrier would catch up with him and show him interesting shots he took.

When Farrier got overexcited about buildings with colorful wooden shutters, Collins couldn’t stop staring at the old classic cars that seemed to stand on every street they passed. He asked the older man to take a photo of him with some blue Chevrolet Bel Air after he had noticed a few of it – Farrier took a picture, but laughed, because he already got good shots of Collins watching the car with childlike fascination.

“I would like to drive a car like that” whispered the blonde man and Farrier laughed aloud again at the longing in his voice.

“I doubt you could drive anywhere outside London with this level of fuel consumption” he said and leaned to the other man to kiss him in his pouted lips. 

“You’re such a killjoy” Collins hissed at him, but closed his eyes, letting the other man brush his lips against his own. When Farrier moved away, he was disappointed, but he knew that it wasn’t in a good tone to act like that so openly. He looked around and there was no one looking at them. They hadn’t experienced any problems because of the fact that they were here as a couple and he preferred it to stay that way.

“I’m just practical, love.”

They moved further, still surprised at the change of styles and various palettes of colours of the buildings they passed by. Farrier took a lot of interesting shots and laughed when Collins was the one who noticed some things he didn’t see. When they saw another blue Chevrolet that the blonde liked so much, the older man promised that somehow he will make it possible for him to drive a car like that before they leave.

“What do you want to buy for your mum?” asked Collins when they got to the market place. It looked as if there were hundreds of small stands – some only selling a single thing like scarves in every possible colour and some with all variety of stuff to sell. 

“Maybe a dress? Like one of those that lady in the café had?” Farrier gave him a little lost look. There was too much of everything and he didn’t even know where to start.

“A dress? Your mum doesn’t even like dresses, Hugh.”

They decided to split a little to check whether there was something interesting around. All the stands looked practically the same for them so they decided to meet by the fountain standing in front of the market place. The separation was a good idea because they usually ended up fighting over such a silly things like buying souvenirs for their family and friends. Of course Collins was the one who had to wait. By the time Farrier arrived he had enough time to wait in the line to buy them something to eat before the trip.

“Got you something” announced the older man and put a paper bag into his hand.

Collins gave the older man a suspicious gaze and looked into a bag. He laughed and took out a small figure of blue Chevrolet that he wanted to drive so badly. It took him a moment to realise that in the bag there was a whole palette of Bel Air in different colours. He took them all out and hissed at Farrier who was already taking another photos of him.

“What you bought for your mum?” the blonde asked.

When Farrier gave him another smile, he was ready to take the gift from Farrier and try to exchange it for something more suitable. He was surprised when the man set the green flowered scarf on his knees. The fabric was soft and the pattern looked surprisingly well.

“It should suit mum’s earrings” said Farrier as if his lover’s silence made him think that he needed some kind of excuse for buying it.

“It looks nice, Hugh. She will like it” he praised the man and gave him the bag with the things he bought. “I bought a hat for little Harry. They’re having some costume party every year at school, so he might like it. I have coffee for Linda and tablecloth for mum. She likes this handmade embroidery.”

Farrier was looking at him as if he was waiting for him to say something more and Collins laughed, easily getting what he meant. He grasped the man by the hand and gently brushed the small place where his pulse was detectable. He put the black thong bracelet around his wrist. There was a little plane charm attached to the bracelet. Farrier did a photo shoot of planes last months and since then he couldn’t stop talking about it.

“I thought you have stopped listening to me talking about planes before I even went there” Farrier laughed and kept his hand for a few seconds longer than it was necessary to kiss it gently.

“You’re difficult to ignore, Hugh.”

One look at the watch told them that they would be late for another bus if they won’t hurry up, so they rushed from the market place to the station, eating the slices of pizza while walking. They got to their destination one minute before the bus was leaving, but it left late anyways. They took the seats at the end of the bus – Collins sat by the window because he liked to watch the scenery they passed and Farrier leaned his head on his arm. The journey was quite long, it took them about four hours to get to the south-east coast of the island, so there was no surprise at the fact that Farrier fell asleep while Collins was reading some book. Sometimes the older man would open his eyes, asking how long it was left and falling asleep again. The blonde was a little jealous that Farrier could fall asleep so easily. When it seemed like there was something bothering Farrier in his dream, he kissed him gently in the forehead and smiled, because the man calmed down at the gesture.

As soon as their left their things in the place where they were staying and got some basic information about the neighbourhood, they went to see the beach. They weren’t there to spend time in the room. The specific place was chosen by them because they wanted to see something more than a sandy beach. The location that Collins had found was everything they needed to rest – an azure water, beautiful beach, rocky shore and forest around.

They bought some drinks in the bar on the beach and decided to take a look around. There were still quite many people on the beach, so they decided to take a walk along the coast. As they were promised, the rocky shore was in a close distance from the beach. Farrier was happy to take some pictures of azure blue waves hitting the sharp dark edges. The closer it was to the evening, the air was getting colder and the rush of the water was getting louder. The sun was setting when they decided to take a seat at the rocks, just to watch how the golden globe turns red, spilling the surface of water with bright afterglow.

Farrier laid down on still warm rocky surface and so did Collins, leaning his head on the man’s belly. The older man didn’t mind. He would gladly offer him a blanket, but if they didn’t have one, he could serve as blanket as well. Gently, he started brushing the other one’s soft light hair with his fingers. He didn’t know why but somehow this gesture always made him calm. Farrier smiled to himself, watching the other man’s closed eyes. They were supposed to watch the sunset, but they preferred to focus on the touch and subtle intimacy of each other’s warmth.

“We should go for a trip like that more often” whispered Collins and the other man smiled at his words. For Collins it was easier to get a leave when he wanted so usually he was the one who adjusted his work to Farrier’s. Beside his office job, Farrier often was a freelance photographer and he used to have photo shoots in a different part of the country, so they often had totally different schedules. Sometimes there were days when they practically passed each other by in the doors of their cosy apartment. Those days usually ended up with one of them being late.

“I can take less jobs sometimes, Fin” he said and put his finger to the other one’s lips, because he knew that Collins was about to say something that he had already known. Sometimes Farrier took too much jobs and only Collins was reasonable enough to tell him that he couldn’t be in two different places at one time. If it wasn’t for Collins, Farrier would probably find a third job because the only times he could stand doing nothing were when Collins was around. “Or you can join me when I leave for a weekend. That would be nice. I know weekend is for resting, but once in a while it wouldn’t hurt to join me… Don’t you think?”

“And your clients?” Collins frowned, but didn’t open his eyes at the man’s words.

“I’m not an amateur anymore, so it’s not like I have to do photo shoots for douchebags that would throw me away because my partner is a man” Farrier shrugged at the question. Most of his clients were friends of friends, so he didn’t have to worry about that. Some would probably enjoy Collins’ company on the set location. Farrier was usually too focused on his vision of the scenery and he barely talked about things that didn’t help him preparing the shoot.

“Still not convinced” said the younger man and Farrier laughed quietly. Slowly, he put his arms under Collins’ back to get him up while he sat either.

“I think I have a good idea of what might convince you.”

Collins shivered a little at the quiet whisper into his ear. Farrier’s breath on his neck was enough to make him bit his lips. The man gently grasped Collins’ hair to tilt his head. They eyes met for a few seconds, before Farrier’s lips clung to his own in a deep, passionate kiss that left both of them breathless. There was no one around so they didn’t care about anything, just enjoying the warmth of their bodies. The younger one laughed, because in one moment they were just kissing and in the other he was pinned down to the cold rocks, with Farrier’s lips on his neck and hands going down his chest. His laugh changed into a gasp when the older one pulled his shirt up and gently brushed his lips against Collins’ collarbones. Since he remembered this part of his body is something that the other one almost adore, always leaving hundreds of kisses and some red marks there. By the time Farrier nuzzled his face in the hollow of his neck, Collins felt intoxicated. His skin was burning in a two places where his lover must have left the hickey.

“Let’s go back” he whispered, deciding that it’s better to go to their room before they would be up to something more than kisses.

Farrier nodded and smiled, letting the other man help him up. The sun already went down, so it was getting darker on the beach and the ocean around had lost its azure colour that made Farrier so fascinated. They held hands walking along the sandy beach that was then lit by lanterns they haven’t noticed before. The warm light cast soft shadows on their faces so Farrier stopped by to take some photo of Collins. The blonde man never liked to have a lot of photos, but he had to get used to that when his life partner turned out to be a photographer.

“No sleep for us tonight” laughed Farrier when they got to their room and it turned out that they could listen to dance party on the courtyard even with the windows closed. It wasn’t late yet, so they couldn’t complain much about the fact.

“I thought that this place is less popular” the blonde opened the window, letting the music inside. They went inside using back doors, so he was surprised to see so many people on the courtyard, laughing, drinking and dancing to the melodious sounds of percussion and guitar. He smiled and rested his hands on the windowsill, watching people downstairs. It reminded him why in the first place he wanted to come here. It wasn’t like he enjoyed this kind of music on daily basis, but being there and listening to it somehow gave him good energy.

“You want to go down?” asked Farrier and when Collins shook his head, he sighed with relief. “Good. Because I can’t dance.”

“You can’t? Can I remind you how you became the king of the dance floor on my sister’s wedding?” he laughed, but during the party he was constantly jealous because all the ladies wanted to steal his boyfriend from him for a song or two. The gay cousin of the groom would also want to dance with Farrier, but one deadly glare was enough to prevent it.

Farrier looked at the other man and laughed.

“The music is not so bad as the music on Linda’s wedding” he said and closed his eyes, trying to focus on the rhythm of the music.

Collins laughed too, realising that the man must had felt a little challenged by his remark. It was just like him, to feel challenged when there was no challenge at all. He turned back to his partner and sat on the windowsill, watching him. He had no idea when things had changed, but he remembered that at the beginning of their relationship, Farrier was terrible dancer. Or maybe he just didn’t try enough?

“Did you take dance classes before Linda’s wedding?” he asked, watching the man moves, so fluid and rhythmic. He could see no effort in the way he was dancing as if it was natural. He shifted his weight in balanced way, relaxed. And he blushed at Collins’ question. “And you took the classes without me!”

“I didn’t want you to be embarrassed about me?” Farrier bit his lips and reached out to him to get him out on the centre of the room. He placed his hands on the taller man’s back and kissed Collins in the ear. “Oh, come on. Don’t be mad.”

“You should have told me. I’d go with you” Collins pouted and the other man would laugh at this, but he was in no position to laugh when his lover seemed slightly offended.

“Oh, believe me, you wouldn’t want me to step on your foot thousand times during one song” Farrier tried to smooth things over, pressing their foreheads together. Their gazes met and Farrier smiled, watching as the colourful lights reflecting in the other one’s blue eyes. Sometimes it took one smile to make Collins less upset. “Do I see a smile here?”

Collins hissed at him and hit him in the arm, but Farrier was right, there was a small smile forming on his lips. He remembered the first time they were dancing, he remembered how awkward it felt to have Farrier against him when the man didn’t even know what to do with his hands. That time he knew what to do. His body was in tune with the energetic melody. It was strange to feel that their bodies swayed in a perfect sync, becoming one with the song and with each other.

The blonde laughed when Farrier turned him around in a perfect part of the song and then pulled him back. He did it three times with no mistake and Collins was about to say that he was showing off, when Farrier pressed their lips together and all of the thoughts was gone from his head, leaving him breathless. The man always knew when the best time to kiss him was.

Collins nuzzled his face in the other one’s neck, when the music went slow and the voice of the singer became more delicate. They weren’t the only ones who started slow dance when the song changed. Collins could see the people downstairs out of the corner of his eye. He noticed one couple of men there and at the back of his mind he wondered whether Farrier would be so brave to dance so well if they would be there.

“I need to take you for a dancing party more often” he whispered and tried not to laugh, when Farrier froze at his words. He could know how to dance now, but it didn’t mean that he was ready for something like that. For Farrier dancing with his love felt as if, for this short moment, the whole world disappeared and there were only the two of them. It felt special, when he wasn’t so occupied with what he should do and finally it was something he was told that the dance was – finally he could feel the intimacy in every single move. And he wasn’t ready to feel it with other people around.


	2. You want it, you get it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Let’s see what our gourmand hides from us” he whispered more to the cat than to himself and put the cup of coffee on the table to open the cabinet where Farrier usually kept the sweets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The word for this chapter? Chocolate!  
> And it's still modern AU settings ;)

Collins wanted to sleep so badly, but the reports he had to fill seemed almost endless. He was sure that this month there were twice more reports than the last time. The files in the folder seemed endless. He put every finished report to the separate folder and there was a few more to complete before going to sleep. He should have it done by He hated those stressful days at the end of every quarter. He believed that there were more coffee than the actual blood in his bloodstream.

It was only one o’clock in the morning so he thought he should be good. He was wrong.

He was supposed to write, but everything distracted him. He had found himself switching between cards in the browser with no specific reason instead of filling the report. He even clicked in some pop up that appeared in the browser. After he was redirected to some gossip website, he decided it was too much. It was time for another coffee. And something to eat because he was sure that he would fall asleep without it.

But first he stopped by the bedroom. He was a little jealous of the fact that his lover could sleep. He knew he shouldn’t because between the two of them Farrier was the one who had more sleepless night when he had new photos to work on. But still.

The watched his lover sleeping peacefully. He noticed the tealight in the small lantern on the windowsill. There was a gentle scent of the green tea in the air. Sometimes Farrier would light candles when he couldn’t fall asleep. This had to be one of those nights. Collins walked over the bed and leaned to kiss him in the cheek. He smiled because Farrier smiled in his sleep and then he left the room, because he didn’t want to wake his lover up.

The cat that was sleeping on the bed beside Farrier, went after him and climbed up on the counter, watching him as he prepared the coffee. Collins felt as if the pet was assessing him, but he realised that she was just hungry. They could both forget to give the cat some meat for dinner. Or she just pretended to be hungry which would not be something new for her. While his strong espresso was in progress, he took the cat food out of the cupboard. The cat seemed happy with the content of her bowl.

He brought the coffee to his nose and frowned. It smelled surprisingly nice considering the fact that he wasn’t the master of that coffee machine. He poured some cream and added a spoon of sugar. And the second one after a few seconds of doubt. The cat gave him the same look Farrier always did when he asked his partner to sweeten his drink.

“Let’s see what our gourmand hides from us” he whispered more to the cat than to himself and put the cup of coffee on the table to open the cabinet where Farrier usually kept the sweets. He decided that he needed some chocolate if he wanted to complete the at least one report anytime soon.

Farrier was the one who would make desserts so there was everything in the cabinet. From simple biscuits and spices to some ingredients that Collins wouldn’t even know that existed if his lover wasn’t explaining him every recipe. The blonde made only one attempt on baking and instead of a big chocolate birthday cake that he planned, Farrier got flat sponge cake only with raspberry because Collins failed at whisking the cream.

He found a cocoa and the hazelnuts in white chocolate. There were also cookies and dried fruits. He liked dried fruits only in oatmeal and didn’t feel like eating cookies. The chocolate must had been somewhere there, he thought, as he was taking everything out. He was pretty sure that they bought some in the weekend, while shopping. Farrier would never leave the shop without chocolate. And yet, when the cabinet was emptied, there was no trace of any chocolate. Collins bit his lips, looking around the kitchen. He could have swore that there was at least white chocolate, the one he hated the most, but right then it would do. He also remembered strawberry one, but he couldn’t see it.

He heard the rustle in the hall, but the cat was still lying on the counter. When he turned back, Farrier was standing in the doorway. He was sleepy, he had messy hair and he was looking at Collins with his eyes half-open.

“Why you’re so noisy, rabbit?” he asked as if he didn’t notice the battlefield that happened on the counter.

Collins frowned, because at first he wanted to jump on the man for using the pet name he didn’t like. He held back because he unintentionally had woken his lover up and he felt bad about it. Farrier was supposed to sleep after the long journey he had.

The cat jumped down the counter and run to the man to brush her fluffy tail against Farrier’s legs. He wanted to take the cat in his arm, but she hissed at him. She could crawl against him in the bed, but she rarely let him keep her in arms. Farrier made a sad face at her action and looked up again at the blonde. At the same time Collins couldn’t help but stare at his thighs, because the man came to the kitchen only in his boxers.

“So? Why are you rearranging the whole cabinet?” he asked and Collins rolled his eyes.

“Do we have any chocolate left?” he asked and bit his lips, because Farrier leaned on the frame of the door in a way that leave the blonde a little breathless. The pose is casual and unintentionally alluring.

“Chocolate? Of course not” Farrier shrugged at the question and rubbed his eyes, taking a few steps to stop before Collins. “Do you really have to rearrange the kitchen at night?”

“I’m looking for a chocolate” the younger man explained and gave him the upset look, but Farrier didn’t seem to care much, still looking half-asleep.

“We bought only two chocolates. And it’s been three days since shopping” he said in a casual tone.

“You ate all the chocolate?”

Farrier blinked his eyes. Slowly.  A little confused. There was nothing surprising in the fact that the chocolate was gone so he didn’t see the point of the question. Sometimes Collins said that they weren’t buying any chocolate, because it was obvious that it would not last long with Farrier around. So he shrugged at the question his lover asked. They were together long enough for Collins not to ask about such the obvious things.

“We might go to buy chocolate for you, if you want” Farrier offered. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, because he still felt half-asleep. When he looked at Collins again, the man had the same upset look on his face and Farrier didn’t understand the reason behind him.

“It’s night. Are you crazy?” Collins asked and frowned at the realisation that it wouldn’t be a first time when Farrier randomly decides to go to the night store to buy something. Usually it was during nights when they ended up watching movie in the middle of the night.

“You want a chocolate. I’ll get you one” and before Collins had the chance to protest, Farrier was back in the bedroom to dress p some jeans and then back in the hall, grasping for his jacket.

The blonde had to talk some sense in Farrier, because he would just go out like that and it was freezing outside, so he wrapped up the scarf around his neck. The red hat Farrier grasped a moment later didn’t suit the jacket, but Collins decided not to interfere so they were in the middle of their way to the shop only a few minutes later.

Collins doesn’t like night trip to the store. Just as he expected, when they entered the store they were invited by loud laugh of students who were in the middle of choosing some strange alcohol to continue the party. The blonde rolled his eyes. It wasn’t even Friday!

“Don’t make such a face, rabbit. We were the same only a few years ago” Farrier whispered to his ear and laughed loudly when Collins’ only reply was to hit him in the side with his elbow. However he couldn’t stop the small smile curving his lips at the thought of them two a few years ago when they were still students. They met shortly before Farrier graduated and it wasn’t so obvious that they would end up like they did.

They stopped before the shelves with chocolate and Collins was confused by the choice of available chocolates. He didn’t have any chocolate that was his favourite, he liked some pralines that Farrier bought in a place he never told him, but chocolate? What difference did it make? Chocolate was chocolate. Of course he would never say that to Farrier. The man would give him an hour lecture about the ingredients, the amount of cocoa, the quality and other things he never remembered.

Collins wanted to pick up one bar of milk chocolate, but Farrier stopped behind him and caught his hand. The blonde rolled his eyes again at his lover’s action.

“Oh, please. Don’t make a scene” he said when Farrier put the chocolate back on the shelf. For Collins it was a perfectly normal bar of chocolate.

“You’re not eating this, Fin” the man replied and stepped before him to choose different chocolate. Three bars of chocolate. All three in different flavours. Collins recognised that the one was the chocolate Farrier was talking about for two weeks when they were going shopping.

He looked at the chocolate that Farrier had chosen for him and sighed. There was nothing to complain about, but he wouldn’t mind eating the one he had chosen himself. It was too late in the night to fight about something so silly, so he let his lover lead him to the counter. It was supposed to be a short trip to buy chocolate, but Farrier had the basket in his hand, deciding it was a perfect moment to buy some products for the next day at work. And Collins would not mind it at all. He wanted to go back to working on reports and he didn’t care. And it seemed that nothing can make his sleepy mood worse until the moment he realised who was standing behind the counter.

Cute and always joyful Alice. Not even once he saw her looking bad. She was bright, smiling and full of energy even in the middle of the night, serving the half-drunk university students. And she was the most bright when serving Farrier. His Farrier.

“Late craving, sir?” she asked Farrier before Collins had a chance to grasp the basket from him and be the one who pay. He stopped behind his lover and watched the woman awkwardly while she was registering the products.

“Aye, nothing’s better than chocolate in the middle of the night” he laughed and Collins was already upset for their small-talk.

“And yet you don’t look tired at all. Hope you’re not getting up early for work” she looked seriously worried and Collins was ready to push Farrier out of the store and finish the shopping himself.

“I do, miss. But I don’t mind to be got out of the bed when the reason is chocolate” he said and it was enough to make the young shop assistant blush. This time Collins was ready to punch Farrier in the back for speaking this way.

“Of course. Have you tried this one already? The almond cream… Sounds interesting!” she laughed pointing at the chocolate that the older one choose for Collins. Her voice was so nice that it made Collins a little more furious. She never missed the opportunity to flirt with his partner. Once she even asked him out right in front of Collins. And while Farrier simply laughed and rejected her in a gentle way, his lover was offended.

“Not yet, miss. But this one is actually for someone special, so you’d have to ask him whether it’s good” he smiled and turned back to give Collins the bar of chocolate. The blonde man blinked his eyes, wondering if he had just overheard the man’s words. The woman also blinked as if she noticed Collins for the first time.

She looked as if she wanted to say something witty in a reply, but when her eyes met Collins’ eyes, she seemed to give up. The blonde didn’t know whether he should consider it his little victory or not.

“Good night, Mr. Farrier” she said before their left and Collins decided that it wasn’t exactly a victory if her voice still sounded so careless.

“How did she know your last name?!” he asked, upset, when they left the shop.

Farrier looked up at him and laughed at the way Collins was looking at him. The man was always amused about those moments of envy. He had no idea why Collins was always envy about some random women.

“Because it was on my card, love” he explained softly. “You can’t be so envious about every woman that tries to flirt with me. After all I’m not into women, right? My taste is well specified and it involves… You, love.”

“But you have to admit that it’s not the first time she flirts with you” Collins looked at the other man upset and bit his lips.

“As you said – she is the one flirting with me. Not the other way round” Farrier said and opened the paper wrapping to give a square of chocolate. “And I have to remind you that every single time I have the opportunity, I do remind her that I’m taken. If she didn’t get that I’m gay by now, then she must be blind. I bet that the rest of the staff already noticed.”

“Sometimes she uses her staff discount when you’re paying” reproached Collins and that time Farrier couldn’t stop laughter.

“Not that I’m going to complain to that” he said and put his arms around the other man’s waist. “It’s amazing how you’re so jealous about some random woman and at the same time refuse to agree when I’m saying that this new guy in your department fancies you.”

“You can’t be furious about every man that tries to talk to me!” he struck back at Farrier, but he blushed at the remark. “And he doesn’t fancy me.”

“He does. And the next time I’ll see him bringing you a coffee to work, I’m going to punch him.”


	3. They’ll love you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Farrier thought that this week couldn’t be worse, but the vocalist of their band proved him wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time the chapter was inspired not by the word, but by the whole sentence, here it is: _You’ve never told me you can sing, I’m offended, you liar_ \- it says a lot of the story, believe me :)

“I can’t believe he did something like that just before the tour” Farrier cursed and hit the table with his clenched fist. He repeated it for the tenth time that evening and yet his bandmates still nodded at his words. The fact that they were all half-drunk might had something to do with that.  “We’re fucked up.”

“Another round?” asked the bassist and the rest nodded at the question. Farrier nodded last, because his mind was preoccupied by the screen of his ringing phone.

Before he decided to answer, the screen went dark. Collins called. He sighed and unlocked his phone to write him a message, but failed at the first attempt. He sent him two messages by accident. One empty and the second one consisting of the set of letters that held no sense and meaning. He hated the touch screen. His fingers where too big and too clumsy to use it in general so when he was drunk it was a tragedy. Collins would know right away that he was drunk.

It didn’t stop him from pouring another shot when the waiter brought the next round for the four of them.

Farrier thought that this week couldn’t be worse, but the vocalist of their band proved him wrong.

Mondays were terrible in general, but that Monday was some kind of disaster. Collins and he came back from work only to discover that their flat was flooded by the neighbour above. They called the insurance company right away, but it turned out that they had to wait a few days for anyone to come and see the damage. The laminate flooring they installed less than half year ago was swollen, there were stains on the walls and some parts of the paint was peeling off. Farrier was the most upset about the game console that was broken because it was laying on the floor so there was no rescue for it.

On Wednesday his mother called him to tell him that his old motorcycle was stolen. He didn’t use it anymore but it had sentimental value for him. Collins said it was useless, but Farrier kept repairing it thousand times.

On Thursday his subordinate sent the wrong e-mails to the wrong clients and Farrier spent hours trying to save the day.

And if that was not enough, on Friday the vocalist of the band Farrier played drums in, announced that he was leaving the band. And he wasn’t leaving next week, or next month or on any other day after his commitments were done. Of course not. He was leaving the moment he announced them the news. And he was impertinent enough to inform them by the phone. By a call made to their guitarist, Leo, who was the quiet type and remained calm at the news.

Jacob had decided to leave, he announced it and stopped answering their calls or replying their messages, not interested in the fact that three days wasn’t enough for them to find a decent vocalist to replace him. Performing without the vocalist wasn’t any better.

“Did he even tell you why he’s leaving? Is it about his girlfriend again?” the second guitarist, Adam, muttered under his nose. Leo shook his head helplessly. “I should knock some sense into him. He can’t just leave us like that.”

“I’d rather not have you knocking any sense into him” Farrier glared at the man. Adam had some history of violence and that was why he wasn’t the one to solve any of the band’s problems. Ever. He and Jacob were often at each other’s throat. “We have enough trouble with missing vocal. Can’t afford loosing the lead guitar.”

Farrier’s phone lit up again. This time he didn’t hesitate to reply. He waved at his friends to be quiet and covered his ears with his hands so that Collins could hear him better.

“You’re drinking” the younger man said. His tone was calm, but a little concerned at the same time. “At Terry’s.”

“Yeah” Farrier replied shortly. There was no reason to lie about it. He could have sounded well and reasonable for his drunk band members, but he was practically sure that if he tried to say something more, he would mix up words and stutter. He was terrible speaker after alcohol. And Collins was always able to guess that he was drinking even if it was only a drink or two.

“Do you want me to come and take you home?”

The man frowned at the question. The conversation between Adam and Leo went further, they ordered another round of drinks and they repeated the same phrases again and again. They were screwed, they all knew that, but they needed a voice of reason to tell them that they should come up with a plan instead of whining. Unfortunately Farrier couldn’t make himself to be that voice.

“Could you?” he asked after a long moment of silence, not sure if Collins was still on the line.

“Of course” the blonde chuckled at his question.  “Just try not to drink too much.”

Farrier nodded at his lover words. And then he drank the shot that showed up before him just a few seconds ago. Their second guitarist must have been the one to order it. They ended up at the bar after a short disagreement in their rehearsal space. Leo brought them the news shortly after he got the call from their vocalist. Jacoby did this at the worst possible moment. None of them knew how to sing and it wasn’t like they were famous enough to easily get a vocalist who knew their songs well. They were sure that the shows could not be made without vocalist and of that they reminded themselves at least once every five minutes.

“Maybe I’ll be the one who sing?” Adam laughed, but his voice sounded gloomy. The rest of what was left of the band gave him doubtful look.

“The only higher notes you can make is when Alison kick you in the balls because she’s done with your advances” everyone, even Adam, laughed at their bassist remark.

“The fans of our little nightingale would be disappointed” Farrier sighed heavily. “Should we announce it already? You know… Just to be fair.”

They shared a long look before the rest slowly nodded at the question. Leo, who was the least drunk from the four of them, took his phone to write a short and to the point message on their social media. He read it aloud, waiting for the others’ approval and when the rest agreed to the content of the message, he published it.

“And now put that damned thing away” Farrier grasped his mobile and put it into his bag. He gave the rest a wry smile at the questioning look he got. “We’re not dealing with it tonight. Whatever they’ll write, we will reply them tomorrow.”

“That’s not exactly fair. There will be questions, Will” Adam pointed out and Farrier shrugged at it.

“I know. But it would be better if we don’t reply it drunk. I want… I want to show that we’re not done with the band yet” he decided. Ethan, the bassist, grasped his hand before Farrier hit the table with his fist. “Jacob was the voice, right. But he wasn’t in the middle of creative process like the rest of us. He can’t be the one who defines us. What he did was to get his notes and sing whatever we wanted him to sing. He hasn’t even written a piece of lyrics by himself!”

The other three looked at each other. The lyrics. That was always the problem. Even though Farrier was a drummer, he was the one who wrote most of their lyrics. Jacoby usually took credit for that because no one really read those small pieces of information at the back of their singles’ cover.

“Okay, we’ll deal with it tomorrow” Leo patted his arm and waved at the waiter to bring them another round. Ethan sighed, because there were already new notifications on his phone. They would have never considered themselves a popular band, but they had a small circle of fans that followed their steps in the music industry.

“Let’s ask around if there is someone who could sing for us. Any vocalist is better than no vocalist, isn’t it?” Adam laughed, trying to break the tension. Another round of alcohol didn’t seem to do its job at it.

“And then we will find a lad that won’t ruin us before the next tour” Ethan agreed, moving the bowl of snacks to Farrier in hope that it will make him not talking for awhile. The man was the most upset amongst the four of them. Unfortunately, the snacks weren’t enough to shut Farrier up. And when he tried to feed his friend with pretzels, Farrier hissed at him like an angry cat.

“Maybe our next vocalist would be able to last more than five songs without being short of breath” the drummer said bitterly and the rest rolled their eyes.

“Could someone pour him another drink?”

The rest laughed and the next round was served. The bar was getting crowded and noisier, so Farrier’s fussing stopped being so obvious to the rest of the local. The short waitress that brought the drinks smiled to the drummer, babbling to him, but before she had the chance to see his confused gaze, Adam interrupted them coming up with some silly, meaningless question. She must have been new here if she tried to flirt with their drummer. Other employers were quite friendly towards them, because they often played there and they knew perfectly well that Farrier was taken. Farrier didn’t seem to notice the flirting part. He was rather blind to any kind of flirting towards him, no matter if it was a man or a woman hitting on him.

“Sit up straight, lad” Ethan whispered into his ear and pointed at the door of the bar. “Your husband is on the way.”

It was ridiculous how Farrier, who just a moment ago was almost laying on their table, straightened up and looked around. If there weren’t so many glasses on the table, one could believe that he wasn’t so drunk. Only the blush on his cheeks gave him away at a glance.

“Hello, kiddies” Collins greeted them and walked up to their table to stop by Farrier’s side. The drummer looked up at him and gave him an admiring look because the blonde was wearing the leather jacket he particularly liked on him. “And hello you, my lovely dork.”

The waitress that tried to hit on Farrier just a few minutes ago, stopped not far away from their table, interested. She needed a moment to guess what was it between the two of them. The fact that Collins gently brushed Farrier’s hair with his fingers was extremely helpful.

“I’ve seen the post on Facebook” the blonde said and sighed when it was enough to make Farrier look away. The admiration in his eyes was gone, leaving space for annoyance. “You are all wasted. Get some rest. You’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

“Will you still come to our live if we end up with no vocal?” Farrier asked. His voice seemed a little more serious – as much as it was possible for someone, who needed a long time and effort to express his thoughts in right words.

“I would come even if you were the one who sing” Collins replied and patted the man in the shoulder. The whole band, including Farrier, needed about three seconds to get the joke. They all laughed at once, saying that it had to be the biggest prove of love.

“One round with us, Jimmy?” asked Adam and he lifted his glass, nodding at Collins.

“No, thank you. I’m driving, I have to take this lad home safely” Farrier nodded at his words and Collins was relieved that he didn’t need to convince his lover to go with him. The blonde put his arm around the man’s waist and let Farrier weigh on him. “Anyone need a ride?”

There was a long silence before Ethan spoke up and also stood up. He wasn’t any less drunk than Farrier, but Collins decided that leading his partner to the car was enough and the bassist had to manage walking by himself. He waved goodbye at the two other bandmates and went out with Farrier and his bassist. Just as he expected, Farrier fell asleep as soon as he heard the calming sound of running engine. Ethan kept him company, relating the situation with their already ex vocalist and telling bad jokes. Most of his story was swearing which was amusing as Collins knew the man as quite reserved person. The blonde knew that he would hear this story again once Farrier would be sober. His lover was very emotional about the band.

Collins dropped the bassist by his home, observing him until the man disappeared behind the door. When he left, the blonde turned on a CD, the one that Farrier recorded for him some time ago. He smiled at the familiar sound of guitar. Farrier had this habit of recording him various CDs depending on his mood. Collins listened to them only while driving.

He liked to drive at this time at night. The road was empty, he rarely passed the other cars by. Driving at night gave him a strange sense of freedom. On the road where the light were off, in the middle of the night there were only the two of them in the small dark space of the car. He turned up the volume at the sound of another song that he particularly liked. Farrier was laughing at this song, but recorded in on the CD that he entitled ‘The red thread ’.

He hummed quietly, trying to recall the lyrics. He could never memorize the first lines of the song, but the rest was no secret to him as he started to sing it. He never had enough of this song and Farrier made his dream come true taking him to the live of the band that composed it. It sounded even more amazing live which made it practically perfect because the CD version was already a masterpiece in his opinion. He knew the vocal line and all the back vocals and he sang it along in a little different tone, recalling the live version.

“You liar” Farrier’s husky voice sounded between bridge and chorus of the song.

“I beg you pardon…?” Collins looked at his lover confused. He slowed down a little, deciding that maybe Farrier needed some fresh air and he would need to stop the car.

“You… You liar” the man repeated. Collins sighed, waiting for him to specify what he meant. “You’ve never told me you can sing.”

“What?” the blonde gave him a questioning look.

“I’m offended” Farrier said and the announcement would make impression on Collins if the man wasn’t half-drunk.

“What are you saying, Hugh?” he asked again, this time using softer voice, and reached out to him to gently brush his hair. “You’ve heard me singing thousand times.”

“But you’ve never told me you can sing” Farrier persisted, grasping his hands and clenching fingers around it. It took him awhile to realise that Collins was driving so keeping one of his hands probably wasn’t the safest idea, so he released it.

“So you need me to confirm that I can sing so that you could realise that I can sing? Anyway… It’s just singing with the radio, nothing you haven’t heard before” Collins didn’t like the familiar glimpse in his lover’s eyes. Farrier had an idea and something told him he wouldn’t be amused with it.

“You can sing, we don’t have vocalist and our tour...”

“No” Collins cut him off immediately, glancing at his partner as if the man was mad. Collins had no professional background as a vocalist. The only experience at singing he had was singing in the car when he was driving by himself. And Farrier must have been deaf if he thought that he could sing.

“But Fin, please…” the older one’s voice was almost pleading and Collins rolled his eyes.

“You’re not being serious, Hugh.  You’re drunk. You can’t think that I’m going to replace your vocalist.”

“I mean it. You sound well” Collins gave him a doubtful look. Farrier couldn’t blame him, he would also not consider himself a reliable source of compliments when he was drunk. How could he never notice that Collins’ voice sounded so well? He had a decent vocalist right in front of his eyes for the whole time and not even once he considered that his lover could sing. “So I’ll ask you again when I’m sober.”

Collins didn’t seem to believe him, so when he had to stop at the traffic lights, Farrier leaned to him to give him a soft kiss. The blonde hissed at him and turned his face so that the man’s lips only brushed his cheek.

“You smell like a barrel of cheap wine. Brush your teeth first, tiger.”

Farrier made a sad face, but Collins was already focused back on the road when the traffic light changed to green. He closed his eyes, letting himself drift to sleep. The next thing he remembered was Collins closing the door of the bathroom just before his nose. When Farrier was done with the shower, he didn’t even try to wake him up. He made it back to the bed and just cuddled against him, nuzzling his nose in Collins’ neck. The blonde didn’t react first, but after awhile he grasped his hand to put it around his waist and feel him closer.

And then was the morning. Terrible morning with headache and dizziness. Farrier was on the verge of dying when he couldn’t turn off the alarm that was piercing through his brain at nine in the Saturday morning.  He never hated the song set as the alarm as much as in that particular moment. Collins was helpful though as he took the phone out of his hand and it took him exactly a second to turn it off.

“You’re an angel” he whispered as their eyes met for a few seconds. He took a moment to consider whether the man was up already and snuggled back to sleep. In a short morning before the consciousness left him, he considered buying the old type of phone, the one he could use even with his clumsy fingers.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a pill and a glass of water on the bedside cabinet. Collins was sitting on the bed with his laptop, writing something for work. He usually did that by the desk, so it was a nice change of pace to see him there. Farrier took a pill and washed it down, still sleepy. He laid on his side to watch his lover. Usually at this time he was already done with preparing breakfast, but that time he felt too tired to get up from the bed at least.

Collins noticed that he was awake, but didn’t react, trying to finish the sentence he just started. Farrier smiled to himself, watching him. He had too big t-shirt that uncovered the smooth skin of his neck. The glasses he wore only at home was sliding down his nose. The older one regretted that Collins used to wear glasses only at home. The blonde was biting his lips and frowning – Farrier knew that expression perfectly, it meant that his lover had a perfect phrase to use just at the tip of his tongue, but couldn’t quite grasp it. 

Farrier nearly laughed when he registered that almost smug look on his lover’s face. That was the expression he also knew perfectly well, the one visible on Collins’ face when he finally found the right mix of words. He typed it quickly and Farrier couldn’t help, but smile, watching his slim fingers moving over the keyboard.

“I’ve read the comments. The four of you are quite screwed” the blonde spoke up suddenly. Farrier sighed at the remark.  He expected that. Slowly he moved to Collins’ side and took a look at the screen of his laptop. The man minmized his text editor to show him the band’s profile. Complaints, questions, worries and remarks about the upcoming tour. He was surprised to see that one of their guitarists already wrote something in reply. It was the middle of the night for him!

“This week can’t be worse. Did the insurance company called?” he asked and put his arms around Collins’ hips.

“Of course not. I bet we’ll have to repair it ourselves” the blonde sighed and kissed him in the forehead. “I can make your week a little better. Or easier, I’d say. You know… On your tour.”

Farrier looked up at him, a little confused. He needed a moment to remind himself that last evening he snapped at him because he heard him singing and realised that his lover could in fact sing. And now, being completely sober, he realised that he had been right. Until that moment he must have been deaf, because Collins voice sounded way better than the voice of their already ex vocalist. Not to mention the fact that he was the master of words and he could write lyrics as good as Farrier’s.

For a moment Farrier wanted to ask whether his lover was serious. But he was smart enough to know that the question would make Collins think that it was all a joke. Which wasn’t true. As drunk as he was the evening before, he agreed with that version of himself that the man was a perfect choice to replace Jacoby at singing. Collins might not enjoy all of their songs, but he had all the lyrics memorized.

“I… I should have said that when sober” he said apologetically. The fact that his lover agreed without him talking about it again and again made him wonder of the reason behind it. It wasn’t exactly obvious for anyone to just agree to replace a vocalist in the act of kindness. “Did you ever sing in front of the audience?”

“Well…” Collins looked away and his cheeks were coloured in the same shade of red as the t-shirt he was wearing. Farrier couldn’t stop himself from stroking his hair softly. “I had this short episode of being chosen to sing at school ceremonies. You know… Singing some full of pathos songs about your homeland in front of kids who doesn’t really want to listen… Not exactly a thing to show off before your talented drummer boyfriend, don’t you think?”

“Well… I’ve started as a drummer in a band consisting of kids that was playing for the grace of the God” confessed Farrier and Collins gave him a confused look. He had never mentioned that. Farrier actually was the last person to be suspected of any connection with church, religion and faith. “I was… nine back then? Don’t know… I’ve started pretty early.” Farrier added to justify himself.

“Yeah… That makes more sense” Collins laughed quietly to hide the fact that still he was not exactly able to imagine that. “You know… I’m a little concerned about your fans. Their expectations. But I can give it a try. For you.”

“I’ll warm up the audience well for you. They’ll love you” the drummer reassured him and gently took the laptop away from him to put it on the bedside cabinet. Collins looked up at him, a little confused. Farrier closed the lid of the laptop, making sure that the text the man was writing had been saved. There was no place for being spontaneous when the blonde was in the middle of creative process. “And I think I’m going to love you even more than I already do… If it’s possible.” Farrier leaned down to leave a trail of gentle, sweet kisses on his lover’s face. He brushed his lips against Collins’ cheeks and chin, then went down to his neck. He didn’t notice how Collins frowned at the kisses. He would probably not believe that his lover frowned at the kisses. But the blonde did and before Farrier leaned to place a kiss in his lovers’ lips, Collins put his hands on his chest, gently moving him away.

“You may not remember my complaints from yesterday’s evening, but… Brush your teeth first, tiger.”


End file.
